Eating and biking our way through the Americas .... and beyond!

North Baja California: Tecate to Guerrero Negro

David cycling away from the roadside shrine to the Lady of Guadalupe (Senora de Guadalupe)

It took us about 3.5 weeks to cycle the length of Baja California. This blog covers the Northern part of Baja California from Tecate to Guerrero Negro.

Its quite detailed for our own records, so feel free to skip ahead to the photos!

Sunday 7th December: Tecate to Valle de Guadeloupe, Baha California

Tecate to Guadalupe Valley

Elevation to Guadalupe Valley

Our first day of cycling in Mexico was a complete success! :)

We started early (around 7.30am), because we weren’t sure what the traffic or road conditions would be like. We didn’t have a map of Tecate, but the town is small and we were able to navigate our way quickly out of town. There were road works on the outskirts of Tecate and so the first 7kms or so of our ride was a bit rough and slow (we were overtaking the trucks on this section!), but once past the road works, we found ourselves on a wonderful new highway, with a huge shoulder. It was not at all what we had been expecting and I remember feeling very happy that we chose to cross the border at Tecate, rather than Tijuana.

We endured quite a lot of headwinds on this day, but the scenery and friendly locals were a welcome distraction. It was Sunday, so the traffic was reasonably light, although it built up as the day progressed. I can imagine that Highway 3 would become quite congested mid-week.

I had been worried about dogs chasing us, but on our first day in Mexico, the dogs that we passed just looked at us and appeared to be far too hot, lazy and well fed to be bothered about giving chase!

We enjoyed cycling on the new Highway 3 for about 30kms and then the quality of the road deteriorated and we started to climb steeply for 8kms on a windy mountain road. The shoulder was narrow, or non-existent, and there wasn’t much room on the road if trucks were passing in both directions. Thankfully we had our mirrors and we pulled completely off the road whenever a truck approached us from behind. The truck drivers were amazing. They were very patient and waved whenever they passed us; on one occasion a truck driver completely stopped behind us until it was safe to overtake. I felt safe on the road, despite the poor road conditions on the uphill. The police were also very friendly and one even gave us a thumbs up when he overtook us on the steep climb!

The road improved again after the 8km uphill and we enjoyed a nice downhill before the road started to climb again. We came across a little shop (Abarrotes Detente) and stopped to buy some coke – liquid energy! We met an old American couple who lived in the town and who told us about the recent road improvements in the area. They said that the road used to be terribly windy and that the upgrade had removed a lot of the curves and was almost finished.

The quality of the road worsened again on the next uphill and was quite sketchy in parts. But, again, the traffic and in particular, the trucks were very accommodating. After this second climb it was almost all downhill into the Guadalupe Valley, which is a major wine growing area. We passed some big wineries, including L.A. Cetto, Mexico’s largest wine producer and the lovely Hotel Endemico, which had fancy looking cabins overlooking the valley. We were pretty hot and sweaty from our ride, so we didn’t stop for any wine tasting at this stage, although we were tempted. :)

David saw a little supermarket and bought me a big bottle of Sol beer and some chocolate for my birthday, although the real present was two nights at the lovely Posada Inn!

We arrived at the Inn early in the afternoon and after a few afternoon beverages, we had the most amazing birthday dinner at the onsite Restaurant “Los Naranjas”, with lots of sangria! We highly recommend the restaurant if you are ever in the area. It is reasonably priced, with brilliant service and food.

KMs travelled: 82.73km
Elevation: 969m
Highlight: Too many! Highway 3, staying at Posada Inn and the awesome dinner!
Lowlight: The couple of rough sections on the road

Monday 8th December: Rest day – Valle de Guadeloupe

We had a much needed rest day after 4 days of riding. We had a lovely breakfast at Restaurant Los Naranjos and then lounged by the pool, catching up on some reading and updating our blog. Unfortunately the restaurant closed early, so we cooked ourselves dinner on our little camp stove next to the pool!

KMs travelled: 0
Elevation: 0
Highlight: The gorgeous sunset

 

 

Tues 9th December: Valle de Guadeloupe – Ensenada

Guadalupe Valley to Ensenada

Elevation to Ensenada

Although the locals claimed that it would be a very strenuous ride from the Guadalupe Valley to Ensenada, it was in fact, a very short, easy day of cycling – only 35kms to the party town of Ensenada – and apart from one minor climb it was almost all downhill! On the way to Ensenada we stopped in at Liceaga Winery, which provides tastings of their selection of wines, including their grappa, for 100 pesos per person (US$ 6.70). The wines were lovely and the manager was incredibly friendly and gave us some great tips for Ensenada, including where to stay, eat and buy a Mexican phone card. He even gave us some little bottles of water for the road!

Outside Liceaga Winery we met a group of friendly US tourists on a wine tasting tour, who were very interested in our travels. We chatted with them for a while, before getting back on our bikes and headed for Ensenada.

Cycling into Ensenada we enjoyed some beautiful ocean views. Following the Manager’s directions we safely navigated our way into Ensenada. The traffic was a little chaotic in the downtown area, but we managed. We quickly found the Telcel store and organised two prepaid phone cards. Afterwards, we went in search of “La Guerrense”, a little taqueria which was voted third in the world at the 2013 World Street Food Congress in Singapore. But by the time we arrived (around 1.30pm), the owner had already finished for the day. L Disappointed not to have been able to try the famed fish tacos, we went in search of a cheap hotel instead – camping didn’t seem to be an option in Ensenada! The hotels on Calle Primera (First Street) were a bit pricey … so, on the recommendation of the Manager from Liceaga, we cycled to Calle Segundo (Second Street) and found Hotel Gris, which had hotel rooms for 200 pesos (US$13.50) – the cheapest we have found in Mexico so far! Hotel Gris was great – the décor was a little dated, but it was clean and had a good shower. There appeared to be mainly Mexican people staying at the hotel, but we felt welcome.

After settling into our room, we went in search of a late lunch. The Manager at Liceaga had recommended colourful El Parian as having excellent, well priced Mexican food. The restaurant had lovely murals painted on the walls and colourful chairs and tables. We ordered some tostadas.  They were ok, but we much prefer tacos!

After eating, we went to the local supermarket to stock up on food for our trip. We love wandering around supermarkets in new countries, to get a sense of what the locals eat. From the mounds of chillies on display, spicy food is obviously popular in Mexico. Get ready taste buds! :)

KMs travelled: 35km
Elevation: 145m
Highlight: Wine tasting!
Lowlight: The cool taqueria “La Guerrense” was closed :(

Wed 10th December: Ensenada – Sán Vicénté

Ensenada to Sán Vicénté

Elevation profile to San Vicente

Cycling out of Ensenada was extremely unpleasant. For the first 20kms, we cycled on the edge of a congested 6 lane highway, fighting for a little space on a non-existent shoulder. About 20kms from Ensenada, Highway 1 narrowed to become a 1 lane highway. Although there was still a lot of traffic, the scenery became more picturesque and we cycled through another wine area, which was nice.

There was a fair amount of climbing on this day, with one serious, long climb. We used our mirrors and often had to get off the road if trucks were coming. We stopped half way up the climb for second breakfast! :) When we eventually made it to the top of the big hill, we took a breather and then enjoyed a long downhill. There was another smallish climb after this and then it was predominantly downhill or undulating until we reached Sán Vicénté.

From our research, we had been expecting to come across a military checkpoint today, but we didn’t see one (they must move them). On the whole, the road conditions were generally good, especially where the road was new. However, some parts, especially around Ensenada, were pretty bad.

We had been hoping to camp this day, as our tent was still a bit wet from our last night of camping at San Elije State Park. However we didn’t find anywhere suitable for camping, so we booked ourselves into a cheap motel room in Sán Vicénté. We paid 280 pesos for the room. Although it was not as nice as our room in Ensenada and the staff were only moderately friendly, it was clean. We set up the tent to dry in the courtyard.

In the evening we went out for beer and tacos.  We found a popular little mobile taqueria and feasted on some tasty beef tacos! We could already tell that they were going to become a mainstay of our diet while in Mexico.

KMs travelled: 85km
Elevation: 860m
Highlight: Gorgeous views over the wine region.
Lowlight: Cycling out of Ensenada.

Thursday 11th December: Sán Vicénté – San Quintin

San Vicente to San Quintin

Elevation to San Quintin

This was my least favourite day on the bike since we started our trip in Alaska. :( Unlike the previous days in Baja California, where we were lucky to spend a good percentage of our time on new roads, this day was almost entirely spent on the old, crumbling Highway 1, with a limited, crumbling shoulder that was about 10cm lower than the road. We predominantly cycled through farmland, dotted with a number of towns. The traffic was intense and we were chased by dogs for the first time.

The dog chasing episodes were thankfully short lived, as I have a slight phobia of stray dogs after cycling through Bali. I LOVE dogs and am certainly more a dog, than a cat person, but I seriously dislike mean dogs that like to chase cycle tourers, especially when they run in packs. We were chased by one pack up Highway 1, but the pack got spooked when a line of cars started bearing down on them from the other direction. Yeah for us! Around lunchtime, two other dogs started chasing after me as I was cycling out of one of the many towns. I got off my bike to walk (as they usually get bored when there is nothing to chase), but they kept coming, so I blew my hurricane whistle and they backed off. Phew.

In total, we cycled 102kms on this day and I felt absolutely exhausted by the time we arrived in San Quintin. My hands were also aching for the first time, from holding onto the handles so tightly when going over the bumpy dirt roads! I am usually pretty good with traffic – it generally doesn’t bother me too much. But cycling on this section of Highway 1 required constant concentration. You needed to be constantly alert to monitor the traffic for trucks, buses and cars overtaking from the opposite direction, to dodge pot holes and maneuver between the road and the shoulder as required. It was exhausting!

We called it a day in San Quintin as we needed to stock up on supplies for our first desert crossing. We couldn’t find a campground in town, so we booked ourselves into a Motel – Motel Chavez.  For a double room we paid 320 pesos. Apart from the little Inn that we stayed in in the Guadalupe Valley, it was the nicest room that we have stayed in in Mexico so far.

We went out for tacos again for dinner. On the way into town we passed a very busy taqueria called Tacos Los Poblanos. From the queues, it seemed like the place to eat in town.  The tacos weren’t the cheapest, double the price what we paid the day before, but they were so amazingly good! I devoured 3 and David demolished 5!

KMs travelled: 102km
Elevation: 574m
Highlight: Tacos at Tacos Los Poblanos
Lowlight: The whole day of cycling on Highway 1, especially being chased by the dogs!

Friday 12th December: – San Quintin – Rest day

It poured with rain today, so we decided to have a rest day.  We didn’t fancy tackling Highway 1 in the rain. In the evening we battled the rain and mud for more tacos at Tacos Los Poblanos.  They didn’t disappoint!

KMs travelled: 0
Elevation: 0
Highlight: Tacos at Tacos Los Poblanos
Lowlight: The rain which turned the dirt sidewalk into mud

Saturday 13th December: San Quintin – El Rosario

San Quintin to El Rosario

Elevation to El Rosario

We left San Quintin early on Saturday morning after stocking up on food for our Central Desert crossing at the local supermarket. I was a bit worried about the road conditions, since it rained so much the night before, but the road (and more importantly, the shoulder) was relatively dry and free of mud as we cycled out of town, although we were enveloped in fog.

As it was a Saturday, the road was thankfully much calmer as well. After about 15km, the road turned slightly left, hugging a little bay and we enjoyed some gorgeous coastal views and a fabulous tailwind. We stopped for second breakfast around 11am and were very happy with our progress. At the end of the bay, the road went inland and we started to climb. The views were amazing!

I really enjoyed both the cycling and the scenery on this day.  After having had such a horrible day of cycling on Thursday, it was great to have a nice day on the bike. The road was generally very good. The terrain was predominantly undulating, with some short, sharp climbs and then one major climb (about 10kms in length), followed by a fun downhill into El Rosario!

We came across our first manned military checkpoint on top of the major climb before the downhill into El Rosario. It was a complete non-event. I went first, smiling and waving to the military personnel. David followed close behind. Although the military were stopping all of the cars, they just waved us through and didn’t even ask us a single question!

When we arrived in El Rosario, we made a bee line for Mama Espinoza’s. David had read about Mama Espinoza’s famous lobster burritos, so we had to stop and try them. We ordered 1 serve of the lobster burritos, 1 serve of fish tacos and 2 coronas. The lobster burritos (which came as three little burritos), were tasty, but pricey. If you are on a very strict budget, you could probably skip them. The fish tacos were average (we certainly had better in Baja California), but the beers were good!

Outside we met three Mexican guys from Tijuana, who were on a road trip.  They were interested in hearing about our tour and gave us some more beers! We stood around chatting and drinking with them for an hour. We had planned to start our Central Desert crossing that afternoon; however after the beer at lunch and the beers with the Mexicans, we called it a day and got a room at Mama Espinoza’s hotel for 350 pesos.

KMs travelled: 63.36km
Elevation: 452m
Highlight: The downhill into El Rosario and meeting the Mexican guys outside of Mama Espinoza’s.
Lowlight: The bill at Mama Espinoza’s … but, lobster is never cheap!

Sunday 14th December: El Rosario – near Guáyáquil

El Rosario to near Guáyáquil

Elevation to near Guayaquil

We left El Rosario early on the Sunday morning and headed into the Central Desert! I was super excited to be starting our desert crossing and not really worried about the water supply. It was winter in Baja California and not overly hot, so we were only carrying about 12 litres of water for both of us.  We had heard that we could get water every 50kms or so and if all else failed, we could flag down a passing car if we completely ran out of water.

Leaving El Rosario, we passed fields of lush crops and even though it was Sunday morning, there were lots of people working in the fields.  As we started to climb out of the valley, the scenery gradually started to change and we could tell that we had reached the desert. Baja California’s Central Desert isn’t your typical barren desert. It was surprisingly green (no doubt due to the recent rain) and full of numerous varieties of cacti! We LOVED it!

This was a massive day of climbing – 1283m in total.  However, the climb was gradual and very manageable, as we slowly made our way up to the Central Plateau.

We stopped for lunch at the first little dot on our map (possibly Arenoso?). The town, if you could call it that, was made up of one house, which doubled as a little café (Restaurant El Sacrificio). I ordered beef burritos and David had eggs rancheros with chorizo. There wasn’t anyone else eating at the café and I hoped we wouldn’t get sick …. But, the food was delicious and we were fine. Having learnt from past experiences, we try not to eat at restaurants where there aren’t any other paying customers. We also try to eat what everyone else is eating (i.e we eat chicken at the place that specializes in chicken, we don’t order the pork :)). So far we haven’t had food poisoning on this trip ….!

We ordered a couple of drinks at the café, but didn’t stock up on water as there appeared to be a larger town coming up called Santa Cecilia, which according to our map, had a Mission and an RV Park. We set off from the little café thinking that this whole Central Desert crossing really wasn’t going to be too hard after all!

But … when we got to Santa Cecilia the whole town (i.e. the one former road house) was closed and there was no Mission or RV Park. We still had a couple of litres of water left, enough for cooking dinner, but not a lot. We would definitely need to get some water soon. We both wished we had bought more water at the little café. It taught us the valuable lesson to stock up on water when we could.

This was our first night of wild camping. We stopped early around 4pm to find a good campsite in the light. The sun set around 5pm in the Central Desert and it was usually pitch black and cold by 5.30pm. We passed an area which was full of bushes, trees and grass, like a little oasis, that would provide us with some good camouflage. There was a pull in area for cars and it was obvious that other people had camped here recently too. We pushed our bikes deeper into the bushes about 500m off the road and found a little clearing. After my recent experience with ants, I was keen for us not to set up our tent on top of an ant hole … or any snake holes for that matter.

David made us spaghetti with tuna for dinner, which was a welcome break after all of the tacos and burritos that we had been eating. Meanwhile I set up the tent and took photos of the brilliant sunset.

Unfortunately, the place that we chose to camp turned out to be a popular place for cars and trucks to stop for the night. Although, we were well hidden, I didn’t sleep well, as I heard lots of voices during the night… After this first night of wild camping, we always chose campsites that were inaccessible by car.

KMs travelled: 81km
Elevation: 1283m
Highlight: The desert scenery
Lowlight: Not being able to buy water in Santa Cecilia

Monday 15th December: near Guáyáquil – near Láguná Chapá

near Guáyáquil – near Láguná Chapá

Elevation to near Láguná Chapá

It was freezing when we woke up and I hadn’t slept well. But, we were keen to get an early start, as the days were so short in the Central Desert. We had tortillas with Nutella for breakfast – it may sound strange, but they are actually really good.  Similar to pancakes and Nutella – yum! :)

We packed up the tent and were on the road by 8am. We were extremely low on water by this stage and we were hoping that the next town, Guáyáquil, would have some water. We soon discovered that we were only about 10kms from Guáyáquil and thankfully, there were signs of life! The first building that we saw was a garage and café. We went into the café and in my broken Spanish, I said that we needed water (“necesitamos agua”). The elderly women just looked at me. I wondered if I had said it wrong, but simply repeated myself and she went off and bought back a tiny 500ml bottle of water. We gestured that we wanted a bigger bottle. She walked off and bought a 1litre bottle of water. Again, we gestured that we wanted a bigger bottle, but this appeared to be it. We bought 4 bottles for the exorbitant price of 80 pesos (US$5.2) (normally we paid 20 pesos for a 4 litre bottle).

We got back on our bikes only to discover that the actual town of Guáyáquil was 2kms further down the road and it had a little supermarket (of sorts).  We bought another 4 litres of water, at more reasonable prices. Oh well. After yesterday, we knew it was better to be safe than sorry.

In terms of scenery in the Central Desert, this was definitely the best day. In the morning we passed through the Cataviña Boulder Field. It was simply spectacular, with huge boulders, some the size of small houses, interspersed between the cacti. David climbed on top of one of the boulders for a little photo shoot!

The Central Desert is full of roadside shrines. Within the Cataviña Boulder Field, we came across a very popular little shrine to the Lady of Guadalupe (Senora de Guadalupe).  An image of the Lady of Guadalupe had been painted onto one of the large boulders and the shrine had been erected around the image. It was a lovely sight.

After the Cataviña Boulder Field, we went through Cataviña – a dusty little town, with a hotel, a restaurant and a pretty good little supermarket (Abarrotes Tonche). We filled up on water, chocolate and ice-cream (as it was so hot!). Cataviña is one of the few places in the Central Desert where you can fill up on petrol. I had been expecting the usual Pemex Petrol Station, but the “Gas” station was a bit more primitive than I had imagined (see the photo!).

In the afternoon, we rode past some dry river beds lined with palms, through a series of desert valleys and even past a lake! We climbed 862m on this day, primarily over the first 60kms. The climbing was relatively gradual, with a few steepish hills. The last 40kms were primarily downhill. In the afternoon, the sun was surrounded by a circle. It was a little weird, but very beautiful. The sun remained like this all afternoon.

We past the small town of Láguná Chapá around 4pm. We contemplated stopping there for the night, but we really wanted to wild camp again, so we pushed on for another 5km. We cycled into the next valley and pulled off the road, winding our way carefully through the many cacti. We still hadn’t had a flat tire since we started our tour in Alaska and we were keen to keep it that way. We set up our campsite behind a little hill, completely hidden from the road. As usual, David cooked us another tasty pasta meal, while I organized the tent.

KMs travelled: 103km
Elevation: 862m
Highlight: Cataviña Boulder Field
Lowlight: The water prices in the Central Desert. You certainly can find water every 50km-100kms, but it can be pricey!

Tuesday 16th December: near Láguná Chapá – near Rosarito

near Láguná Chapá – near Rosarito

Elevation to near Rosarito

We got up early, packed up the tent, had a breakfast of tortillas and Nutella and were on the road by 8am. This day was thankfully, almost all downhill, although there were a few climbs to conquer. We stopped to fill up on water at the small town of Ejido Punta Prieto and had a tasty lunch of tortillas and avocado outside the shop. This was our standard lunch in the desert (occasionally, followed by a Nutella tortilla for dessert)! We had bought a big bag of hard avocados in Ensenada and they gradually ripened on the back of my bike, providing a nutritious and healthy lunch!

The goal for this day was Rosarito; but due to all the downhills, we reached the town earlier than expected (around 3pm). We stopped at a little shop (an ‘abarrotes’) to buy water and some beer to celebrate the completion of our Central Desert crossing! As it was still early, we decided to push on a bit more towards Guerrero Negro, with the hope that we would arrive in Guerrero Negro by lunchtime the next day. We set off from Rosarito hoping to find a campsite with a view of the beach. Our map indicated that there was a beach camp (Campo de Pesca), about 10 km south of Rosarito, so we went in search of the turn off.  Unfortunately, although we glimpsed the ocean from the highway, we never found the turnoff. We saw a lot of military personnel in this area, but we didn’t pass a checkpoint or have any trouble.

There weren’t too many wild camping options on this stretch of Highway 1. But, eventually we saw a hill, which we thought we might be able to camp behind. David watched the bikes, while I scouted out a good campsite – a little rocky, but completely hidden from the road behind the hill. The only problem was getting our bikes up to the chosen spot! Together, we pushed each bike up and over the embankment, and along a little dirt path to the campsite. While David made our dinner (a rather salty, tuna pasta!), I set up the tent and took photos as usual. :) We enjoyed our beers while watching the sunset.

This was our last night in the Central Desert.  We had both really enjoyed the crossing and were reluctant for it to be over so soon, and yet we were both keen for a shower in Guerrero Negro!

The road was generally pretty good through the Central Desert, although it was a bit patchy and pot holed at times. However, considering the numerous roadside memorials, it is obviously a very treacherous stretch of road. I was surprised by how much traffic there was. The road certainly wasn’t congested, but I had expected that we might only see a couple of trucks and cars each day. But we saw at least a truck or a car every half an hour (and every second car had a Christmas tree strapped to the roof!). The trucks were amazingly friendly towards us. They always waved or tooted their horn and always gave us room on the road, although if there were trucks coming from both directions, we usually tried to get off the road completely. The motorists were also generally friendly.  We only ever had problems with the big first class buses, that didn’t provide us any room at all. Thankfully there weren’t too many of those.

KMs travelled: 108.81km
Elevation: 532m
Highlight: The downhill in the morning!
Lowlight: The salty pasta …. David was experimenting making pasta sauce with tomato stock cubes!

Wednesday 17th December: near Rosarito – Guerrero Negro

near Rosarito – Guerrero Negro

Elevation to Guerrero Negro

As usual, we woke up early to get an early start, but it was raining, so we decided to sleep in for another hour. :) I thought I heard some footsteps and someone fiddling with our combination lock on the bikes. But when David poked his head out of the tent, he couldn’t see anyone. Although, when he later removed the combination lock, it seemed as though someone may have tried it (but we couldn’t be sure). We had thought we were in a fabulously remote location … but, who knows!

Today was a short day on the bike. Only 67kms and it was mostly downhill – yeah! We stopped for tacos for lunch at Villa Jesus Maria, where we met a lovely Columbian couple who were touring through Mexico (and ultimately to Columbia) in a van that they bought in the USA. They spoke excellent English (and Spanish, of course) and told us about the whale watching tours that we could take in Guerrero Negro to see the grey whales. We decided to take a tour the following day.

We hadn’t seen a big town for a few days, so cycling into Guerrero Negro was a little shock to the system. Coming into town we saw lots of colorful housing estates, where we presume the majority of the locals live.

When we got into town, we started looking for a place to stay. The Lonely Planet recommended Hotel Malarrimo, which also had camping. We made enquiries, but didn’t find the place to be very friendly and the “campground”, was really just a gravel carpark, which didn’t look very nice or secure. The rooms were ok, but were very pricey by Mexican standards at 450 pesos. We kept looking.  We made enquiries at other hotels on the main road and they were all over 400 pesos for a room for two people.  So, we tried one street back from the main road and found a hotel with cheap rooms for 280 pesos. It was nothing flash, but it was big and had a nice hot shower. It was only later that we discovered the cockroaches! :( Oh well, you get what you pay for.

We spent the afternoon checking out Guerrero Negro and doing some food shopping and our laundry. We made inquiries about whale watching tours.  There are only 3 tour companies in Guerrero Negro and only 1 company, Mario Tours, was running whale watching tours the following day, as it was still very early in the season. Apparently there were only about 4 or 5 whales in the lagoon at that time (in February and March there can be over 1000 whales and babies!). We had never seen a whale up close, so the thought of seeing 1 whale up close sounded pretty good to us, so we booked ourselves in for a tour the following morning for US$49 per person.

We couldn’t find a good taqueria around our hotel for dinner, so we celebrated reaching Guerrero Negro, which marks the beginning of South Baja California, with pizza (rather average) and beers instead! :)

KMs travelled: 67km
Elevation: 179m
Highlight: Meeting the Columbians at Villa Jesus Maria
Lowlight: Cockroaches in our hotel room …